Friday, February 3, 2012
Open Thread Mindless Entertainment at Weekly Open Thread
Posted by Nicki Wood on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 9:21 AM
This week we forgo the backward glance and the view ahead to look at YouTube videos. Twinkie cannons naturally top of the list.
The scientific precision of the device in the first video (above) is admirable, and I have high hopes these guys will be part of a bright future for engineering in this country.
Here's a small-town tradition to warm your heart. The computer-generated voice, like the "Extra Normal" cartoons, is just icing on the cake of endearing weirdness. I especially like the halting warning, which phonetically goes something like this: 'Eff few ... have ... any ... safe-tee e-quip-ment, nowwould ... be.a.good time.to.be weareen ... git."
And for combustion PLUS Twinkies, here's a Twinkie in the microwave, part of the "Is It a Good Idea to Microwave ..." series.
Speaking of mindless entertainment, is there some type of sporting event going on this weekend? And will you be watching? Bring your ingenious ideas and entertaining food stories to the weekly open thread.
Wine Wandering Wino: Loadin' Up Your Datebook Edition
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 7:01 AM
Fortunately, this week it seems like the events fell in a nicely consistent chronological order. So for your ease of scheduling, I'll present them in the same way. Please turn in your Daytimer to hymn No. 287, oops, I mean tonight.
Tonight
Kicking off the weekend's festivities is the next edition of Midtown Wine and Spirits successful Friday Night Wines at The Bound'ry series. Midtown invites you to join them at the Bound'ry, 911 20th Ave. S., for a tasting of different wines each week. This Friday they have four different and delicious wines from two different wineries — Emmolo and Victor Hugo — located in Napa Valley and Paso Robles, respectively.
They’ll be tasting:
Emmolo Sauvignon Blanc
Emmolo Merlot
Victor Hugo "Hunchback" Red
Victor Hugo "Opulence" Red
It's $20 per person (plus tax and gratuity), with appetizers included. Call The Bound'ry at (615) 321-3043 to reserve your seats for the tasting which runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m. tonight.
Monday
Whole Foods and The Belcourt present Wine, Food and Film this Monday, Feb. 6.
Join them starting at 5:30 p.m. for delicious samplings from Whole Foods Market's catering offerings, and they'll pour red and white wine for you to enjoy with your small plates. At 7, pick your movie: My Week With Marilyn or Shame.
Purchase your Wine, Food & Film tickets in advance for $20 for Belcourt members and $25 for nonmembers. If you procrastinate, tickets are $5 more on the day of the party. But since you’re now marking it on your calendar, there’s really no reason for that.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
News Memphis Restaurants Condemn 'Best Chef' Bracket Contest as 'Cutthroat'
Posted by Dana Kopp Franklin on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 11:55 AM
But that competitiveness can have its limits. That seems to be what happened in Memphis when a local business publication launched its Best Chef in Memphis tourney, a bracket-style competition that pits 32 chefs against one another, with the winner of each match determined by popular vote.
A number of restaurateurs and chefs included in the contest sent the Memphis Business Journal a letter "respectfully declining" to participate in the paper's competition, saying it represents a "cut-throat" mentality that just isn't the Memphis way.
"As the Memphis restaurant scene has continued to develop, especially with the increase of chef-owned restaurants, we as key players in this development have worked to cultivate an environment of inclusiveness," the letter said, according to the Hungry Memphis blog of the alt-weekly Memphis Flyer.
"Instead of competing with each other, we send each other business. Instead of poaching talented staff, we share resources to ensure a future of talent," the letter continued.
"Is there a competitive spirit? Of course. We are, after all, business people. But the people who have chosen to make Memphis their culinary home in the past few years have done so with the forethought that Memphis can be and is different than other cut-throat restaurant towns."
Events Enjoy Cocktail Supper, Cool Concert at University School's Music Night
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 8:36 AM
Kicking off the evening at 6 will be the "Taste of Music Night" cocktail supper, which is included in the ticket price for the concert. The menu features a smorgasbord of the best chefs and caterers in Nashville, including F. Scott's, Silo, Panache, Jamie Kay, Bang Candy Co., Bongo Java and others, as well as wine provided by Lipman Brothers. Don't be put off by the fact that the dinner will be served in USN's new cafeteria. Recently renovated, it pretty much a seriously badass cafeteria.
At 7, the musical portion of the evening kicks off with special guests special guests Jay Knowles, Andy May and Clay Mills, who between them have an alphabet soup of awards and nominations (Grammy, IBMA, ASCAP, etc.) and who also happen to be parents of USN students. The headliners of the evening are Trigger Hippy, a supergroup made up of USN dad and Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman, vocalist Joan Osborne, singer-songwriter Jackie Greene, guitarist Audley Freed, and bassist Nick Govrik. Their performances are an energetic modern take on old-school soul and roots rock.
I mean, come on! Joan Osborne in the same auditorium where I played Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls? Have you ever seen Joan Osborne live? Her smoldering voice almost burned down 328 Performance Hall at a show I was at over a decade ago. Think what she'll do to you in this intimate setting.
Restaurant openings Lucy's Country Cafe Serving Lunch at Blue Bar
Posted by Nicki Wood on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 5:58 AM
Lucy Pinson and husband, the extraordinarily prolific songwriter Bobby Pinson, have turned a love of homemade food into a menu of home-cooking favorites from their own repertoire, family recipes and friends' favorites.
Though they're still tweaking the recipes, the food just three days after their debut showed plenty of thought and care. Steak fingers were generously cut and fried crisp, served with a impressive, peppery homemade white gravy. Okra in a cornmeal coating was fried crisp and chewy. Corn muffins have a touch of jalapeno. Sour cream gives the devastatingly rich banana-less banana pudding a meltaway consistency, while crushed vanilla wafers make a crunchy counterpoint.
Bobby Pinson's sense of humor translates well to his menu choices, including fried spam and bologna "fries," and "Backward Tuesday," when the spare ribs were fried and the chicken was baked.
The Pinsons have been serving lunch on a smaller scale from a suite on Music Row and saw the need for a straightforward lunch spot in the neighborhood. "There are all these big buildings going up around here, and lots of people, and so many $18 lunches," said Bobby, who does his songwriting in a space above the restaurant.
The food is priced like meat-and-three, with an all-you-can-eat price ($12.99) for that guy in every office who can eat like that and stay thin.
Though the address is 1911 Broadway, the entrance is on Division. Hours are Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., and "Sing for Your Supper" on Wednesdays, when Pinson's songwriter friends and colleagues will be performing and the food will be plated and served at the tables. See weekly menus here, and get updates on Twitter, @lunchatlucys
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Events Gong Xi Gong Xi! An Amazing Evening at the Chinese New Year Banquet
Posted by Nicki Wood on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 10:16 AM
I won't bore you with descriptions of dishes at Sunday night's Chinese New Year Banquet, although each one bested the previous one in spectacular fashion. But here are some highlights of the evening.
1. I expected to know only about three people, all of them at my table. Pleasant surprise, then, to see the Scene braintrust of Ridley, Silverman and Haruch in attendance.
2. Veteran journalist Anne Paine (of another media outlet) does NOT wish to be kissed by the dancing Chinese lion, and I have the photograph to prove it.
3. Our Chinese hostess urged, "Use your hands," to tackle savory foods like duck and fish. When do you ever hear that at a restaurant dinner party?
4. If you were born in the Year of the Ox, go shopping for a purple cloth or wall-hanging and put it in the southwest corner of your house for the year. And watch out for gossip.
5. If you really love Chinese food and have trouble finding it (as many frequent comments in Bites imply), make every attempt to attend next year's banquet.
6. It's not too late to eat some really long noodles for good luck this year.
News Whiskey Wednesday: Corsair Produces Some Great New Whiskeys — AND a New Book
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 7:07 AM
You've probably seen some of their more popular seasonal experimental offerings like their Pumpkin Spice Moonshine, but there is some truly wacky genius stuff coming out of their stills in both Bowling Green and Nashville. Others are starting to take notice, as Corsair was recently featured as one of the top 100 greatest distilleries to visit in Whisky Magazine. The magazine gives props to owner Darek Bell for his use of intriguing grains to develop what he calls "alt whiskeys."
One of his more unusual alt whiskeys is in current release and can be found in higher-end liquor stores and several bars around town. Making whiskey basically involves brewing a beer from grains and then distilling it down and aging it in barrels.
Rasputin Hopped Whiskey is derived from a Russian imperial stout, a beer type often referred to as "the king of stouts" for its aggressive hoppiness and intense malt characters. What Bell and his crew at Corsair have done is to modify the original stout recipe to create a base for an extremely hoppy whiskey that is almost rust-colored and utterly unique in flavor profile.
A true enthusiast for spreading the gospel of his alt whiskeys, Bell does not keep the recipes for his creations to himself. In fact, he has written an entire book — Alt Whiskeys: Alternative Whiskey Recipes and Distilling Techniques for the Adventurous Craft Distiller — describing his philosophy of distilling and the exact ingredients and procedures for creating whiskeys from grains as exotic as millet, buckwheat, triticale, spelt, quinoa and sorghum. He even has a recipe for a "10 grain bourbon" that uses all of the above and more.
The author also shares information on how they smoke their liquors to create unusual products like their Triple Smoke. And as for another popular type of smoking, there's a recipe for a Cannabis Moonshine, which Bell claims to have sampled but never to have actually attempted to produce himself, for obvious legal reasons. He includes the recipe "for educational purposes only."
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Conversation Bites What's the Most Important Tool in Your Kitchen?
Posted by Steve Haruch on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 12:32 PM
The biggest tool in my kitchen is probably me, but as for the most important tool, I guess I'm with Bourdain on this one.
Fun and Games $50 Gift Card for a Pantry-List Recipe That's a Keeper
Posted by Nicki Wood on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 5:49 AM
- blog.wholefoodsmarket.com
Having a good recipe and the right ingredients on hand makes it easier, which is where Whole Foods gift card and pantry list comes in pretty handy.
Commenter jblank takes the gift card with a recipe for Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad that sounds good for lunch, dinner or potluck, whether you're trying to eat better, or just hungry for something with loads of flavor and protein.
Jblank, message me to claim your card, nwood(at)nashvillescene(dot)com
Here's the winning recipe again.
Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad
1 (5-ounce) can water-packed tuna, drained and flaked
1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans (or about 2 1/3 cups), rinsed and drained
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and sliced
1/3 cup sliced red onion rings
1 garlic clove, finely chopped (or I just use 1/8 tsp garlic powder, making sure that it's distributed well)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or basil
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/3 cup red wine vinaigrette or Italian dressing
Combine the tuna, beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic, parsley or basil, and ground pepper.
Mix in the dressing and toss to combine; chill. Goes well with leafy greens or flatbread.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Restaurant openings Joe Natural's, a Farm-to-Table Cafe, Opening Soon in Cummins Station
Posted by Dana Kopp Franklin on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 3:33 PM
- Nicoleirene Dyck
A second Joe Natural's is scheduled to open in Cummins Station on Monday, Feb. 20. (A couple preview events may precede the opening.) The cafes are the brainchild of Paul Schertz, a native New Yorker who worked for years in shopping center development in Tampa, Fla., before discovering he loved agriculture. His wife Deborah is the talent in the kitchen.
For details, check out my Food Biz column in today's issue of The City Paper.
